Coffee with Cream
by msjgatsby
Summary: Mike knows her drink order by heart. She drinks a skinny double dirty chai. He's coffee with cream.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** I've had this plot bunny stuck in my head ever since the scene where Paige came bounding up to the camp fire, radiating energy and joy, and Mike gives her *that* look and says "You're a bear."

Two stories later, it is apparent this plot bunny may have gotten friskier than expected at first glance.

If you like this story be sure to check out it's companion piece Skinny Double Dirty Chai. Which is written from Paige's POV.

**Rating: **This story is rated M for sexual situations, however those don't take place for a while. If you're looking for PWP just skip to Chapter 11.

**Disclaimer:** Look I really don't believe that this disclaimer is going to protect me at all should Jeff Eastin decide to sue me. However, Jeff's attorneys should please note that suing me would be a huge waste of time, for the following reasons:

- First: I have no money and am certainly not making money off of this. First rule of law school; go after the deep pockets.

- Second: I clearly have a ton of time on my hands. So I have nothing better to do than debate the four prongs of The Fair Use Act 17 U.S.C. § 107, file extensions and counter suits. It would be a lot of work for no reward.

- Third: Just trust me on this one- I'm cute. We're talking button levels of cute here. No judge or jury would ever be able to resist my puppy dog eyes.

**Thanks:** Big thanks to sadisticscribbles for betaing for me.

- J

* * *

**Coffee with Cream**

Chapter 1

"Grab my ass."

"Seriously?!" Mike is sure he's misunderstood her, though the blunt words don't leave much room for interpretation.

"Seriously. Mark your territory and grab my ass." Charlie makes it sound like she's teaching school. The things they don't teach you at the academy.

Mike puts aside his chivalry for a moment and takes one for the team. He slides in close to her, places his hand on her backside, and gives her a firm squeeze.

"Mmmm. Wow. So that's what your squeezy thing has been for." Charlie purrs.

Mike's smart enough to know that she's just flattering him to boost his ego and calm him down, but it works. There is really nothing like squeezing an attractive woman's ass to give you confidence.

"Among other things." He laughs, giving her a smack. If she wants cocky, he can give her cocky.

"Easy tiger." He grins, walking ahead of her into the bar. He scans the room out of habit and finds his eyes drawn to the pretty girl on stage singing.

"That's Paige."

So that was Paige, the mysterious sixth roommate. She was... not what he was expecting. Wow.

Mike just stands in awe. She's amazing. Not her singing, that's actually pretty terrible, but her presence. She somehow radiates sunshine and happiness in an otherwise dark and seedy bar. He watches her dance along to the cheesy music. He didn't know it was possible to look so sexy and so adorable at the same time, but she's somehow managing it.

Maybe Graceland wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Stop staring." Charlie's voice breaks through his haze, and he realizes he is indeed standing there like slack-jawed idiot who's never seen a pretty girl before. "You're still my fake boyfriend."

Having been caught, he immediately feels guilty. He is here on a mission to help Charlie after all. He wraps an arm around her and leans in to apologize, but he can't help his gaze from drifting back towards the stage.

"That's Bobby Moy." Charlie explains. "He's got his fingers in most East Side's contraband. She's under as his girlfriend."

Mike's eyes darken as he spots the lowlife. How egotistical does that guy have to be to think he's even in the same league as that woman? His mind briefly considers the full implications of going undercover as someone's girlfriend, but a sudden wave of jealousy surprises him and he pushes it from his mind. He hasn't even officially met her yet. He watches her leave the stage and lean over the thug in a familiar way taking his drink from him. She is truly beautiful.

Just then Paige looks over in their direction. Mike bashfully lowers his eyes, embarrassed to be caught staring. Paige makes her way over in their direction, her strides are long and confident as she walks towards them. She grabs a drink from the bar and dumps it in her glass. She strolls right past him and Charlie saying only one word, "Bathroom."

Mike watches her walk away, then casts a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one's following her, before being led off by Charlie.

Once they are out of the eyesight of the gangster, the two girls start talking and laughing. Mike can't quite hear what they are saying, but apparently Charlie is teasing Paige about her karaoke skills. Neither woman acknowledges his presence, and when they get to the ladies room, Charlie just tugs him along inside like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Inside the bathroom, he sees a woman pulling an older man out of a stall. The man keeps his head down shamefully as he exits the bathroom and Mike thinks maybe in California this is a more common occurrence than he originally expected. He's clearly not in Virginia anymore.

"Shut it ok." Paige laughs at Charlie, as the door closes behind the three. She does not sound at all upset of Charlie's critique on her singing. "Did you get them?"

"Yeah." Charlie assures her, pulling a small package out of her purse and taking off her shoe.

"God, I'm gonna start buying these things in bulk." Paige sighs as she heads into a stall. Mike feels really out of place in the ladies room, and is starting to wonder if he's invisible.

"So this is the infamous Levi!" He gives Charlie a dirty look. He hated every single one of his roommates at that moment. Of course she had heard of his screw up. Why would he hope for a moment she hadn't? So much for making a good impression.

"It's Mike." He really hopes that name doesn't stick.

"He's my boyfriend tonight. And he's cute right?" Charlie asks, throwing Mike a knowing grin.

"Yeah he's hot." Paige thinks he's hot. Mike allows himself a moment of hope that he might have a chance with her.

"It's nice to meet you Levi." Well, that ray of hope was short lived. The word Levi is like cold water to him.

"Yeah, you too, it's Mike." He stutters. Come on Mike. You can talk to pretty girls. Think of something to say that's not going to make you sound like a complete fool.

"You fresh out of Quantico?"

Her red lace thong is around her ankles. Christ, if that slip of fabric could even be considered underwear. That's all she was wearing under that skintight dress of hers? It seemed, illegal or at the very least impractical. Where would she keep her firearm? How would that slip of lace provide even the slightest protection? He could just slip the flimsy piece of fabric aside and slide inside her… his eyes snap up to the ceiling. He shouldn't be thinking about that, she was his roommate for Christ's sake.

"Yes ma'am." He keeps his eyes trained on the ceiling, so they don't drift back to that red lace ribbon around her petite ankles. Or that small tattoo on her foot. Normally, Mike's not a tattoo guy, but on her, he just wants to lick it. He can feel his pants getting uncomfortably tight, and he's surprised there is any blood left in him for that. He had assumed it had all gone to the blush that's been growing brighter across his cheeks every moment in Paige's presence.

"At ease soldier." He swallows nervously. Fuck, did she know even through that door that his soldier was saluting her- oh. She was referring to his formal address, not his dick. He decides he's just going to let the girls talk, and think about baseball.

"Still making no headway with Bobby?" Charlie asks, pounding up the pills into a powder with her shoe.

"Nothing. I'm looking for stuff on him, and all he want's to do is get under me." All thoughts of baseball are gone for Mike.

"Wait, is that what the birth control is for?" The words are out of his mouth before he even realizes he's spoken. He's horrified.

"I'm not taking them." The voice comes authoritatively from the other side of the stall, and he realizes he shouldn't have asked. He's offended her.

"Well your agency doesn't expect you to… um…" He doesn't know a delicate way to put it.

Paige comes out from the other side of the door and gives him a long scrutinizing look. He gulps. This is the first time he's been under her direct gaze, and he feels like she's looking right through him.

"I'm not going to screw him. The pills are for Bobby." She states firmly. Mike holds her eye contact and gulps. She's terrifying, but he can't look away.

"Give a guy a couple of these and his soldier's at ease." Charlie explains.

"Really?" He is tempted to take a gulp himself at the moment. Those red panties kept dancing in his mind. Jesus, it was getting hot in here.

"Really."

"Thank God. I can't take this anymore." Mike is pleased with how annoyed she sounds. He knew she couldn't really be interested in that jackass.

"Gross." Charlie agrees.

"Well can I ask you a question? I mean you're going under as his girlfriend. Don't you kinda expect him to want to uh..." She is adjusting her perfect breasts in the mirror, and Mike forgets what the question was.

She turns away from the mirror and his eyes snap to her face. "...well you know... want to get with you." He finishes with a goofy grin, pleased he had found a way to phrase it without getting slapped.

She had to know the effect she had on men. If she was his girlfriend he'd never let her out of bed. No drug on earth could keep him from finding a way to make love to her.

"Absolutely." Paige says, unabashedly meeting his gaze head on. She was definitely not a dumb girl.

"Why don't you get out?" He is dead serious now. The agency couldn't force her to sleep with someone for a case. Mike would find a way to save her from this.

"Because I want the bastard." She flashes him an impish grin, and he sees more than a beautiful smile, but recognizes a kindred spirit in her. This woman does not need saving. She gets off on this. Not on men wanting her, but on the chase. On the idea of punishing the wicked. She's like a very sexy guardian angel.

"Ok Mama." Charlie says, breaking the tension between the two. "It's getting hot in here."

"Thanks Charlie!" Paige chirps, taking the drink and brushing by Mike.

They're about to part ways.

This is Mike's absolute last chance to say something, say anything, to show her he's not a total idiot. God knows what she thinks of him so far. Charlie had told her the stupid Levi story already. He's offended her and come off as far too naive. Since he's been here he's barely said anything coherent. Just basically stood around and drooled. This was so not going his way, but he could rally. All he needed was to say something clever before she left and not sound like a total moron. . .

"It was nice to meet you Mike." She slaps his ass. He was NOT expecting that. All chances of saying anything at all, let alone anything articulate are out the window.

"Told you you'd like her." Charlie grins, brushing past him knowingly. Mike can say nothing. All he can do is continue standing there, grinning like an idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** I swear at some point I'm going to start posting original dialogue. I just like to lay the groundwork for it with some character development already provided by the show.

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 2

"Ok kids I've got some zombie virus. Makes you real calm, real fast. Don't ask me what's in it." Charlie declares as she enters the room.

"Hey listen, I'm already calm." Mike insists.

And it was true. In fact Mike couldn't remember a time when he felt this calm. He had kicked ass today. The meeting with Bello could not have gone better. Ok, maybe it could have had a few less guns pointed at Mike, but he had nailed it. After the terror and the adrenaline had faded away, Mike realized, at this very moment, life was good.

Briggs was starting to trust him, and now he was stretched out on the couch relaxing with his new friends, who felt more like family. Except, perhaps, for the pretty blonde seated next to him. He definitely didn't want her as a sister. She was sitting next to him on the couch chatting away, and seemed to move closer with every drink. If they kept drinking at this pace, she'd be in his lap by the end of the night.

"Man you just had a gun to your head ok? Don't take away our excuse to drink the zombie." Johnny says, grabbing a drink.

"Yeah. Don't be selfish." Paige scolds him, giving him a playful shove.

"Jakes, come here sunshine." Johnny calls over, and Mike laughs.

"Don't call me sunshine." Jakes growls, but comes over to join the group of drunkards regardless.

"Yo to livin' lyin' and lovin'." Johnny leads the toast and the whole group cheers.

"Living." Mike concurs, clinking glasses with Paige. He repeats the other two words silently in his head, because currently "Living" is the only one he can admit to aloud.

The guilt of spying on Briggs is definitely starting to affect him but for now he brushes it off. He's not going to worry about the lying right now, and as for the loving- well he's not going to worry about that either. What happens will happen. He sneaks a glance over at Paige, who is throwing her head back downing her shot. With a little luck, it might happen tonight.

"Oh, we should call this crap amnesia, I forgot it tastes like that." Paige winces, placing the glass back down and making a disgusted face.

"Yo that shit is foul." Jakes concurs.

"That is really truly foul." Mike examines his glass. He actually kind of liked it, but he was not going to be the odd man out and admit that.

"Come on one more round." Charlie insists, getting the shots lined up. Mike eyes the shots warily.

"What? You scared?" Paige teases, mocking his hesitance to go another round so soon.

"Who me? No. I mean, I'm scared for you. You sure you can keep up?" He grins, raising an eyebrow at her and leaning in on the couch.

"Newbie please. I will still be going long after you've passed out tonight on your ridiculous FBI manual. Nobody knows how to party like the DEA!" Paige boasts, throwing her chest out in a mock challenge at Mike and earning hoots of agreement from her fellow DEA agents.

"Ok, line them up and let's see. I just took on the biggest crime lord in town. I think I can handle you. I'm feeling pretty good tonight." Mike accepted her challenge with a grin. "Let's go Charlie! Rack them up!"

Two more rounds in and Mike is already slouching back in his seat. Paige looks like she could operate heavy machinery while reciting the alphabet backwards in chinese. How she was holding such a large amount of alcohol in such a tiny body was beyond Mike's comprehension. She must be cheating, but his mind was too foggy to figure out how. Charlie's phone rang.

"Really? Another booty call?"

"Not even close. A CI." Charlie dismisses Johnny's question looking at her phone with a concerned expression on her face.

"Coitus interrupted." Paige mumbles. Mike tries not to think about who Paige might have been having coitus with when her CI's called. "It's Whistler! He's a pain in the ass."

"No, he's not. He's just a little needy." Charlie is such a mother defending her CI's like that. Mike is surprised she doesn't have baby ducks trailing behind her. Which is a weird thought. Maybe that zombie drink was stronger than he realized.

"Whistler?" Mike asks, trying to focus on the conversation at hand. He hated being the new guy, he felt like he was always needing everything clarified.

"Yeah, he's a meth head. Used to wheeze a lot. He works for me now. Alright guys, I gotta skip this little party."

Charlie is awesome fun and always has his back, but Mike is a little relieved she's exiting early. Mike loves her dearly but Charlie is a total cock block. He knows it's unintentional. She's so focused on trying to make Mike feel like part of the group that she gets super cuddly and won't leave his side. Maybe with her leaving early he can find a way to get some time alone with Paige tonight.

The whole group tries to talk Charlie into staying, but Mike just waves goodbye. He's on a winning streak and wants a chance to talk to Paige while his confidence is still high and his inhibitions are low. Now, he just needs to find a way to get rid of Johnny and Jakes before she drinks him unconscious.

"I gotta make this call!" Charlie yells scurrying away, nearly running into Briggs as she exits the room.

"Whoa! Hey Zombies!" Damn. Make that Johnny, Jakes, Briggs and Lauren he needed to lose.

"Yo Briggs! I need you at the bar man. I'm looking to get into trouble, dude." Perhaps Johnny would do him the favor of taking the guys out to the bar leaving him here with Paige alone.

"Nope you're not." Briggs shuts down Johnny quickly. He was obviously not here to party.

"I am!" Johnny insists. "Come on dude, I need backup let's go!"

"Nope I need all my FBI guys, we've got action tomorrow bro."

Mike knew his lucky streak had to end eventually. He supposed now was a better time than in front of an armed gangster.

"Just FBI?" Jakes asks hopefully. Lucky Bastard.

"Yeah. You and Paige have at it. Represent. Huh?" Briggs gives Jakes his blessing.

"Know what? I'm good. I'm gonna watch the town. Again. Paige you in?"

Paige doesn't need to be asked twice. She jumps up, collects the shot glasses and remaining zombie virus giddily, like a squirrel stocking up for winter, and prances out the door without a glance back.

And just like that sex was off the table for Mike tonight. Time to focus on work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 3

Mike is in his room, changing out of his FBI uniform, when suddenly the door swings open with no warning. Mike freezes, literally caught with his pants around his ankles. Paige bounces into the room, oblivious to any concept of personal boundaries.

"Hey Levi! A couple of us are heading down to- Oh my gosh, really?" The sentence dissolves into giggles.

"It's Mike, and don't they teach you to knock at the DEA?" Mike groans.

He looks around for a shirt, or pants, or anything to fix his current state of undress. Sure, they were in California where people daily went out in public with far less clothing on, but here in his bedroom, with Paige, he felt exposed.

"You seriously own American Flag boxer shorts? You are sooo white bread." Paige throws herself on his bed. She's laughing her ass off.

"My mom bought them for me." Mike defends.

This confession brings a fresh new round of laughter. Mike stands there watching her gasp for breath on his bed, wondering where she got the nerve to walk into his room unannounced and make fun of his underwear. He wonders if she'd still be laughing if he were to cross the room, pin her down on his bed, and kiss her senseless.

"That makes it worse!" Paige gasps, wiping away tears.

"Can I help you with something?"

Mike turns around to root through the closet for pants. He wants to try and steer the focus away from his boxers, or more specifically, the growing tent there.

"Oh no. You don't get to talk all normal when you're wearing those."

Still lying on her stomach, Paige reaches out and snaps the band of the back of his boxers.

"Holy shit!" Mike squeals in surprise.

He spins around and grabs his shorts as if he's afraid Paige is going to steal them. Which, he then realizes, is stupid.

She is laughing again, knees pulled up to her chest, hair splayed across his bed.

"You're … too ... much." She wheezes in between giggles. "Oh it hurts. It hurts." She holds onto her spasming rib cage, laughing uncontrollably.

"Would you prefer I take them off?" Mike asks shortly, and then realizes what he just said.

He did not mean for it to come out that way.

Paige just laughs harder at this, and it is not good for Mike's ego. He finally finds a pair of jeans, and yanks them on over his boxer shorts.

"You came in here for something?" Mike asks, feeling more confident now that he has pants on.

Paige still is unable to speak, her whole body shakes with each spasm of silent laughter. Mikes sighs, and sits down next to her on the bed while she continues to quiver.

"Anytime now. I'll wait." He says, watching her try to calm herself and then dissolving into helpless laughter again. He's worried she may pass out from lack of air.

Finally, wiping tears from her eyes, she manages to choke out the words, "We're going to the Drop. Do you want to come?"

"Sure."

After this, Mike could use a drink. Note to self, he needs to start buying his own underwear.

"Good."

Paige seems to have regained control of herself now, and reaches out her hand for help off his bed. He takes her hand, and pulls her to her feet. She is suddenly standing dangerously close to him, and he realizes he still hasn't put on a shirt. Her eyes are wet and twinkling, and her cheeks are flushed from laughter. His gaze travels down to her lips, and he subconsciously wets his own.

"Let's go Captain America."

She swats his ass, and then dashes out of the room before he can retaliate. Her laughter rings the whole way down the hall.

* * *

Johnny, Jakes, Mike and Paige are sitting at a table in the bar. Mike is surprised at how packed the joint is for being two in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Apparently day drinking is a more common hobby than he thought.

"Lauren man. She went crazy. She ran right out in front of that truck." He and Johnny are recounting the story of their bust this morning with the rest of the table.

"Never seen Briggs so pissed off in my life. Ever. I mean not even when you screw up." Johnny adds.

Mike makes a face. He has never been considered the screwup before. He's always been a top-of-the-class kind of guy. He doesn't know how to handle the recent endless commentary on his inadequacy, especially when Paige is a witness to it.

"Where is he by the way?" Johnny asks of Briggs.

Mike kicks himself for not thinking of asking the question himself earlier. He needs to find out more about Briggs. He has an assignment. Plus, it's his only way of getting back to DC, though admittedly Graceland is starting to grow on him. He steals a glance at Paige. The company's good.

"You know Briggs man. He's meditating this into the universe. He'll be back when he achieves innerpeace. Blah blah Briggs." Jakes says dismissively.

Jakes takes his drinking seriously, and will not have it interrupted by speculations about missing roommates.

"Whatever, look. Time to explain to Mikey here, the subtleties of undercover dating. I'm serious." Johnny begins to lecture.

Mike wonders if this lecture will include how to date a fellow undercover agent. He doubts it, the rule on that is probably "don't".

"Cannot break your cover." Johnny continues.

Mike casts a quick glance over to Paige who is just smiling away as usual. Teasing Mike seems to be her favorite pastime recently, and it doesn't seem to matter much to her who is doing the teasing.

"I get it." Mike says quickly.

What he does not say is that this was one rule that did not apply towards him. The only girl he was interested in dating was sitting right beside him, sipping her drink and laughing at him with her eyes.

"Do you?" Johnny challenges. This is apparently a very important point.

"Yeah."

"You can never go up to a woman and say hi I'm special agent Mike Warren. I work undercover for the FBI." Jakes leans across the table, joining in the lecture.

"Which is too bad, because that's one hell of a pick up line." Paige leans back in her seat and licks her lips.

Mike grins at this, his confidence fueled. Someone must have liked the view earlier today, because the line seems to be working on her.

"Who are you tonight?" Mike asks. He leans in flirtatiously, trying to keep his voice casual in front of the other guys.

"Well that depends on who's here." She matches the playful gleam in his eye, and leans in as well.

The tension lays thick between them as their eyes remain locked. The words, "Who would you be with me?" are on the tip of his tongue, but before they can leave his mouth, Johnny interrupts.

"Your boy Phil is over there." Johnny says, oblivious to any subtext in Mike and Paige's conversation.

"Slowly, slowly, slowly." Johnny instructs as Paige turns, acts surprised to see Phil, and waves.

"Phil thinks I'm a pharmaceutical rep. Ask me why I chose that for him." Paige turns back to Mike.

He's listening closely to her voice for any hint that she may be in love with this Phil. It's a good thing he doesn't have his gun, or both Johnny and Phil might be dead by now.

"Why'd you choose that for Phil?" Mike asks quickly, worried for what her answer might be.

"Look at him. Does he look like a cardiologist to you?" Paige smirks, and Mike laughs, feeling relieved. Phil did not seem like very strong competition.

"Ok, you pick an alias they would know nothing about..." Paige advises.

"So, they don't ask too many questions, and they don't find out what they shouldn't. Right, right." Mike catches on quickly.

He's anxious to end the conversation, now that the spell is broken. He does not want to hear about what other roles Paige has played or, more to the point, who she's played them for.

"What about you?" Mike turns to Johnny.

"Me? I'm a pilot." Johnny shrugs.

"Just always a pilot." Mike is unimpressed with the originality of it.

"Always. Unless I meet a flight attendant. Like that one time. Then I'm a photographer." Johnny grins, turning to Paige his voice drops to a theatrical swaggering tone. "Oh my, you're stunning."

"Me?" Paige plays along.

"I'm serious. I mean, I gotta get you in front of my lense."

"Oh my god." Paige overacts, fanning herself.

"It works every time."

"Get out of here." Mike says in disbelief.

"Every time. Like clockwork son." Johnny is so confident in this that Mike considers buying a camera.

"I play bass in a band you've never heard of we travel a lot we've never recorded an album and we never will." Jakes says matter of factly. "Chicks dig artists…"

"Even starving artists?" Mike prompts. He just can't believe that. What woman wouldn't want a successful guy who could provide her with security?

"When they look like me they do. I'm like a chocolate Jesus. Watch and learn my young friend." Jakes says, getting up to saunter across the bar to an attractive young asian woman at the jukebox.

"That dude plays the same three chords every time. Over and over and over…" Johnny complains.

"Well, it seems to be working for him." Mike says, watching as the asian woman smiles and places a hand on his arm.

"He's an amature. I'll show you how it's done." Paige announces, standing up from her seat.

"That's not fair. You have breasts." Johnny complains.

"Yeah. Totally different game." Mike agrees.

"Hey, use what you got." Paige shrugs, "Alright kids. Wish me luck. I'm going to go talk to Phil. How do I look?"

She tosses her hair dramatically over her shoulder, and strikes a pose.

"Good. Go. You're scaring all the hot chicks off anyways." Johnny grumbles.

"Beautiful." Mike answers honestly. Paige flashes Mike a sincere smile, and then turns to go talk to Phil.


	4. Chapter 4

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 4

Mike has always been good at sports.

Which is why it is a complete shock to him that he's getting his ass handed to him so hard right now.

Ok, pool isn't exactly a "sport" but Paige is still slaughtering him. The girl is a shark. Of course, she does have the unfair advantage of making him scratch every time she leans over the table, but Jesus. He already owes her fifty bucks from the last game.

Paul Briggs arrives at the bar and Mike worries his poor pool skills will somehow negatively affect his performance review. Not that he expects Briggs to be organized enough to ever file an official performance review, but god forbid he's ever asked to go undercover at a pool hall. He'll be shot on sight.

"Ok! We need to toast to the madness that was today." Paige insists, clinking glasses with Mike.

Mike still hasn't figured out how such a small girl can hold her alcohol so well. Her liver must be made of steel.

"Madness, huh?" Mike notices Briggs looks tenser than normal. He files it away for future thought. He can't think anymore tonight. It was a long day and he needs to relax.

"Briggs check it out. I got sliced up by this mad russian. I got this dope scar though. I'm gonna be working it tonight."

Johnny shows off his bandaged arm for all to see. He seems almost giddy that he got stabbed. Mike has never been stabbed. He doesn't think he'd handle it with such bravado. In all fairness the wound does seem to be working for Johnny. He had been drinking for free all night.

"Yeah that looks pretty serious Johnny." Briggs admits, before asking a little too casually, "Where's Lauren?"

"She said she wasn't up to it tonight." Mike answers, watching carefully for Brigg's reaction.

Something was bothering Briggs. Mike tries to picture what could possibly be going on in the older agent's mind. He could see the wheels turning.

"Not up for it?" Briggs repeats thoughtfully. Suddenly his moody attitude seems to dissipate and the party leader persona returns. "Well then I guess we gotta party on her behalf. What are we drinking?"

"White Russians!" Johnny declares, knowing Briggs is buying.

"To the bar!" And with that battlecry, their fearless leader ushers the little band of drunken misfits to the bar.

It does not go unnoticed by Mike that Briggs picked up Paige's pool ball and placed it right in the way of Mike's next shot. Jerk. Like she needed any help.

Mike is still nursing his beer, so he stays behind to try to salvage some of his dignity in this pool game.

"Hey, come here." Paige whispers urgently to Mike.

She takes him by the arm and drags him back up against the wall, out of earshot of the rest of the group.

She sounds serious and Mike's pulse flutters nervously. Maybe she's going to confront him about the sexual tension that's been growing between them these past few weeks. More likely, she's going to mock him for playing pool like a little bitch.

"Ok. Don't look now, but there is a pretty girl at the bar who has been staring at you all night."

Mike follows Paige's gaze to the girls at the bar. Sure enough, there is a cute brunette who smiles at him and then looks away shyly. Mike sighs. Paige truly has no idea how he feels about her. He wants to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Look it's been a crazy day. I don't feel like creating some elaborate lie right now. Can I just be myself and hang with you guys? Alright?"

The last thing he needs is Paige setting him up with some stranger. Can't she see that he would happily stand here and lose at pool all night if it meant he got to be with her, even platonically?

He's being a pussy. He should just man up and tell her that he's crazy about her, but the moment doesn't feel right. With Paige it has to be perfect, because Mike knows he will only get one shot with a girl like her. If he blows it, her sleeping two doors down could get awkward fast.

"Well I want to hook up with someone, and that's not going to happen with you standing beside me so… hold that." Mike has no choice but to take the pool cue that is thrust into his hand, and let her go.

Mike shakes his head in frustration. He feels he's been so obvious with his every glance that everyone must know by now. Paige is one of the most observant and intelligent people he has ever met, and she has no clue.

He watches her walk away from him, feeling worse than the time he got the news that he wasn't assigned to DC. He's been assigned to a far worse fate. He's waited too long to make a move, and now he's been friend zoned. Fuck.

She walks right by their group of friends and as she crosses the bar. He looks around for who might be the lucky bastard she's off to flirt with, but then realizes that she's heading straight over to the group of girls. It suddenly dawns on him what her plan is.

"Oh no, no, no. That is not cool. Ok." He panics and tries to think of a way to stop her, but knows he could never reach her in time. It feels like the moment before a car crash, when time slows down but there's nothing you can do. This can't be happening.

It does happen. Paige says something to the cute brunette and they both look over in his direction. Mike laughs nervously. This sucks. He flashes the brunette an embarrassed smile. Paige prances back to join the rest of the Graceland team, looking very proud of herself.

There's really no way this can get any worse, so Mike crosses the bar and introduces himself to the cute brunette. Her name is Abby, and she's a complete stranger, and he has no clue what to say to her, and damn Paige for putting him in this situation.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mike can see some drunkard hitting on Paige, which is really nothing new, but Mike hopes she didn't blow him off to go home with a guy like that.

"I'll have a matteress." This catches Mike's attention.

"A matteress? Where you from?"

"Baltimore."

"Virginia. Make it two." The least he can do is buy the girl a drink. It's not her fault Paige is blind.

A fight breaks out across the bar. Mike doesn't see what happened. All he sees is Paige dragging Briggs out of the bar. Looks like she won't be hooking up tonight after all, he thinks smugly.

"Are those your friends?" Abby asks innocently.

"Yeah." Mike says, and it's true despite how much he hates that fact right now. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe this is what he truly needs, to hang out with someone normal. Someone who isn't armed and doesn't punch people in public.

"Looks like a nice group."

He senses a bit of sarcasm in her tone. His loyal streak almost makes him come to their defense. They may be assholes, but they're his assholes.

He resists the urge, and instead mumbles something noncommittal. He's getting too close. He needs to put some distance between him and Graceland, and Baltimore is about as far from California as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** This is the last chapter that reiterates scenes from the show with my own skewed pov. After this, it's all original dialogue and scenes. I'm going to rush to get it finished before they air the new episode this week and throw off my storyline.

- J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 5

Mike walks along the beach hand in hand with the cute brunette Paige picked out for him. He has to admit, Paige has good taste. Abby is beautiful and smart and would be exactly Mike's type if he weren't already head over heels for the girl who set them up.

Mike feels like he knows everything about Abby now. The conversation has been completely one sided, but it's his fault. In order to avoid blowing his cover he's been asking her questions all night long, consciously deflecting any personal questions by steering the conversation back to her.

As it turns out women love talking about themselves. Who knew. The sun is beginning to rise, and Abby has been talking all night. If the FBI thing doesn't work out, he could write a dating-guide book called "Let her talk" and make millions.

Abby's pleasant patter about why she went to lawschool, horseback riding and her family provides a nice background noise for Mike's thoughts. He thinks about what he's going to do about investigating Briggs. He thinks about the bust they pulled and Johnny getting stabbed. He thinks about Lauren and how far she crossed the line to avenge her partner.

Most of all, he thinks about Paige and wonders if she did end up hooking up with anyone. He thinks about how he needs to get over his ridiculous crush, because she clearly did not think of him that way if she was throwing him at pretty girls against his will. He wonders what she even thinks of him. Then it occurs to him. Abby might know.

"Hey can I ask you something?" He wonders how he can phrase it without raising her suspicions. "When my friend Paige came up to you at the bar, what did she say to you?"

He worries that his voice gave away too much. That he sounded too eager. The entire night he had been off somewhere else mentally, nodding along and murmuring in agreement, and now he was looking at her with a curious desire to know everything about that brief conversation between her and Paige.

"She said, 'That guy is Mike, and out of all the guys in the bar, he's real. Are you real Mike?" Mike smiles a sad smile.

Abby really is a lovely girl. The morning sunrise is casting a romantic glow on the beach and he's standing here with her. He knows what she wants. She's wondering if he's going to try to kiss her, possibly worrying why he hasn't tried yet tonight. She's looking up at him with those innocent eyes and that hopeful smile, and he should be feeling something.

And yet, even with all that, it's nothing compared to the way his stomach flipped the other night, when Paige had given him a peck on the cheek, after he rescued her ridiculous floppy hat from a strong ocean breeze. She had declared him her hero and knighted him 'Sir Levi' with a piece of driftwood.

He doesn't know how to answer Abby, so he just lays a chaste kiss on her lips. She smiles up at him and pulls him in for a more substantial kiss. He just stands there, arms at his sides, letting her kiss him, wishing she was someone else. He's sure there's something wrong with him.

When he finally gets home, he throws his jacket to the side with a deep sigh. He feels kind of guilty about leading Abby on, but he might call her. He doesn't really know. The Paige thing clearly isn't going to work out, so he probably should. Right now he just needs some sleep.

His heart skips when he sees Paige striding purposefully towards him in shorts and a bikini top. He looks for any clues that she might have succeeded in her quest to hook up last night. She reveals nothing.

"Hey, good morning." He greets her.

Despite his exhaustion, seeing her face gives him a little jolt of energy, and his greeting holds more enthusiasm than he knew he could muster. It's really not her fault. She doesn't know she's causing him so much heartache.

She ignores his greeting and chucks a frisbee at him. She seems rather grumpy, well for Paige at least. He wonders if she cares at all that he's just getting in.

"Want to play frisbee?"

Even though it's a light question, her delivery is slightly hostile. His first instinct is always to say 'yes' to anything she asks, but he fights it. It's not going to happen, and he needs to start getting over her.

"Actually, no. I haven't slept yet. I'm kind of tired." He gives her a grin and hands her back the frisbee.

He's rubbing in the fact that he just got home, and is pleased to see that she looks pissed. Good. She was the one who set him up. Let her be the jealous one for once.

She shoves the frisbee back into his chest, a little harder than necessary. "I want to hear about your sex life, but not right now. We have important things to do."

"Seriously?"

He's disappointed to discover that it's not his walk-of-shame that's upset her. However, his concern for her wellbeing and worry over what it is that has got her so upset overpowers his initial selfish reaction.

"There's something we need to go look for."

And just like that, Mike's following her out the door he just came through. He just can't say no to her.


	6. Chapter 5B

**BONUS CHAPTER!**

**Author's Notes:** I admit I thought this story was finished. I was never expecting Graceland to let me stay in Canon for so long. But then they went and aired "O" Mouth, and I was provided with so much Mike/Paige material I couldn't resist. Anyways, I really liked this scene and how distracted Mike seemed during it, so I wanted to write my own twist.

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 5 (bonus)

"Ok man. So spill. What's got you so down?" Johnny asks, Mike as they sit at the bar at the Drop.

"I thought you said no one wanted to hear about my shitty life." Mike says without resentment, sipping his beer.

The truth was, he really didn't know if he wanted to relive the prior night's events again right now. Despite his initial protests, this morning's football game had actually helped take his mind off of it. Memories of Paige's barely concealed body pressing against his in the sand went flashing through his brain and he shifted uncomfortably on the bar stool. He thought he had milked those memories for all they were worth in the shower that morning. Apparently not.

"I know dude, but here's the twist. I'm going to chug this beer. You have exactly that amount of time to talk about it. Once this bottle's drained it's done. I never want to hear about it again. Here's your window. You ready? Ok, Go!"

Johnny lifts the beer to his mouth, and Mike in a panic, quickly blurts out the entire night's events in under a minute.

"Wooh!" Johnny shouts, shaking his head and slamming the empty bottle down. "That sucks man. Feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do actually." Mike is surprised that it's true.

"So how you doing with it all man? Not like with the job, 'cause we're done with that shit, but with the house and adjusting and stuff. It's gotta be a big change from the east coast."

"Yeah, it is. But you know what? I'm actually really starting to like it here. It's starting to feel like home."

"That's good man, 'cause it's the only home we got and it's a tight fit. Usually things keep pretty steady. Losing Donny and then Lauren, and then getting a new guy so fast? Shit's been crazy for us too."

"Yeah, at first it was rough but, something changed. I don't know, with Paige being back at the house and..." Mike realized he was about to say too much, and recovered quickly, "This is going to sound bad, but things are actually feeling a little more comfortable now that Lauren's gone. No offense. I know she was your friend, but she really didn't want me here."

Mike was grateful Johnny didn't seem to notice Mike's near slip up.

"Don't take it personally bro. Lauren just wanted Donny back."

"Yeah, what was going on with those two, were they...?"

"Like rabbits dude." Johnny grinned.

"Really? I thought there was a rule against dating other people in the house." Mike is trying to sound casual in his questioning.

Just the idea of breaking a rule would normally make Mike break out in a sweat. He had a healthy respect for the rules, and his job was important for him. But he would take that chance for a shot with Paige. She made him want to break all the rules.

"Yeah, it's not supposed to happen, but that doesn't mean it doesn't. I think there must be something in the water. Hell, just this morning Paige asked me if I wanted to have a quickie." Johnny laughs.

Johnny might as well have punched Mike in the gut. Mike tries to keep his face blank as he processes this information.

"Really? The two of you hooked up?" Mike can barely get the words out. His throat is dry.

"Nah man. Nothing happened, but I'm telling you for a second there it could have." Johnny gloats.

"But she wanted to. For sure? Like, what exactly did she say? Maybe you misunderstood her."

Mike is desperately looking for any possible way this isn't true. But why would Johnny lie about this? Still, Johnny and Paige? Has Mike been so blinded by his own feelings for her that he hadn't noticed her heart was already taken?

His mind races for any indication that Paige wanted Johnny. He combed through his memories of this morning, trying to remember Paige's behavior. Any sign he might have missed. He knew Johnny and Paige were tight, but she had never given any evidence that it might be more. Sure she flirted, but no more than Paige flirted with anyone, and definitely less than she did with Mike.

"No dude, trust me. There was no misreading that. She looked me straight in the eye and practically purred."

"Unbelievable." Mike can't say anything else, trying to keep his face neutral.

"I know dude, I was shocked too. And it pained me, I mean my dick physically hurt, to say no. Especially after that bikini this morning. Damn."

"So, nothing happened, but in the future do you think the two of you are going to..." Mike asks, not wanting to know the answer, but needing to find out all he can.

"Nah, man. Don't get me wrong, Paige is cool as hell. Smoking body. But I'm not risking any drama for one night. Look around, there's no shortage of ladies here. Don't shit where you eat, you know what I'm saying?"

Mike stares straight ahead, dejected. After his first couple weeks here, the rational side of his brain knew that him and Paige probably weren't going to happen. But the reason he told himself they weren't together, was because Paige wouldn't date anyone in the house. In reality, she just didn't want to date Mike. Somehow this makes it feel like he is being rejected all over again, only worse.

"Speaking of which, isn't that your girl over there?" Johnny asks.

"Yeah, that's Abby." Mike says slowly, kicking himself for at first looking for Paige.

She's not your girl. Get it through your head, Mike.

"She's hot dude." Johnny's right as usual. "You have a second date or what?"

"We did. Same night as uh…."

The beer is gone, so he knows he's not allowed to talk about Eddie anymore. Johnny understands though.

"Shut up. You still went out with her?"

"I thought I could power through." Mike shrugs.

It all seemed pointless now. He still was trying to process Paige's offer to Johnny. She wanted Johnny.

"No, dude the second date seals the deal! You can't be this cool ass guy the first night and then be all weird and emo on her. You're not good looking enough son. I mean I can pull it off but you can't."

This seems to be the theme for the day. Not that Mike resents Johnny for any of it. Johnny's just Johnny.

"Ok. Whatever I think it's done." Mike just wants to go home and go to bed. He can't think about girls anymore. How could he have been so wrong about Paige?

Abby looks over and gives them a shy smile. Mike feels guilty. He doesn't mean to keep blowing her off. The timing's just not right.

"I don't think she thinks it's done." Johnny says. "And her friend is kind of hot... I think we need to make a move over there. What's the cover you gave her?"

"Told her I was from the east coast and I live with you idiots." Mike tells him.

"Yeah, but what about your job?"

Mike thinks for a moment back to the night he met Abby. God, what had they even talked about? They'd literally talked all night and all he can remember is thinking about what Paige was doing. Is he really that pathetic?

"It never came up."

What the hell had they talked about?

"For real?" Johnny also clearly thinks that's fucked up.

And it is.

Paige is not interested. Abby is interested. She's beautiful, smart, and kind and he's going to blow it.

That settles it. Mike needs to stop moping in Paige world. This has to end.

"Look you order a pitcher, I'm gonna be charming as hell." Johnny says, jumping up to head over to the girls.

"Yeah, you go do that."

Mike is done being that pathetic loser. Paige is clearly not interested in him. How many ways does she need to prove that before he accepts the truth? He needs to quit while he still has some dignity. Johnny's right. Paige is not the only girl in the world, and Mike needs to man up and get over her. For real this time.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** Alright! This is where my story departs from the show. I'm a little nervous, but hopefully you all like it and stay with me. I write for my own enjoyment, but appreciate feedback. I'm always looking for ways to improve.

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 6

Mike lets the door slam behind him as he enters the Graceland house. He hears voices coming from the kitchen and sighs in frustration. He was really hoping everyone would be out at the bars by now. He can't get to his room without crossing the kitchen, so he just walks in and grabs a beer from the fridge.

"Hey Mikey. Weren't expecting you back so early." Briggs greets Mike as he enters.

Briggs and Johnny were the only two in the kitchen. Good, he didn't want to have to deal with the entire house right now.

"Yeah, we were expecting you to be out all night long." Johnny wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at Mike.

"Yeah. Well, the date didn't go well. I dropped her off early." Mike shrugged.

He tries hard to make it sound like it was no big deal, because he really didn't want to talk about it, but his voice wavers.

"Sorry to hear. What happened?" Briggs asks.

Mike considers lying, but doesn't want to make Briggs any more suspicious of him than he already may be.

"Took her out to dinner. The waiter was one of the gunners I've been training for Bello. He definitely recognized me, but I faked a stomach ache and we left before he said anything to Abby. I had to take her home after that. Not too bad, just freaked me out." Mike explained.

Overall the situation could have been worse. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep lying to this girl, but he'd never forgive himself if she got hurt because of him. God, was this how dating would be for the rest of his life?

"Well, sounds like you handled it well. We're heading out to the Drop. Want to join, now that your night's freed up?"

"No, thanks guys, I think I'm just going to stay in tonight."

The other two look at him doubtfully.

"Seriously, I'll be fine. I need a night off. Maybe I'll grab a quick workout, catch up on some reading and go to bed early." Mike lies, hoping they will just drop it and leave.

"Suit yourself!" That was the nice thing about Briggs. He didn't push.

"Your loss! Yo Briggs let's go! I got this new wingman move I want to try out tonight. I'll fill you in on the way. Make sure you bring a yo-yo, a pair of scissors and maybe some gloves."

"Are we killing these women, Johnny?"

"No, man it's brilliant. Yo Mike! Catch you later!" Johnny calls back as he and Briggs head out to the bar.

Mike waits until he hears the front door close before he goes back to the freezer and grabs a bottle of vodka that Lauren left behind. He never pegged himself for a guy who would drink alone, but the beer just wasn't cutting it tonight. He doesn't bother looking for a chaser, or even a glass. He just tilts his head back and takes three large consecutive chugs straight from the bottle.

He gasps for breath when he finally pulls the bottle away. He stands there, eyes shut, feeling the liquor burn his throat. He appreciates the pain. If he can make himself feel bad enough physically, maybe it will distract him from the emotional pain. He feels nauseous for a moment as the liquor splashes in his empty stomach, but he just keeps his eyes closed and waits for it to pass.

He doesn't hear Paige enter the room. His eyes are still closed, so he doesn't see her, but somehow he senses her presence and just knows she's there.

"Whatever you're going to say, can you please just not?" He asks, still keeping his eyes tightly shut.

For some reason, she listens to him for once, and stays silent. He feels the bottle gently being taken from his hand, and opens his eyes to see her standing in front of him.

Still not saying anything, she keeps her eyes locked with his, and her gaze is so intense he finds himself wishing she would speak, because nothing could say more than that stare.

She doesn't speak though, simply raises the bottle to her own lips. She takes three large gulps to match Mike's earlier intake, putting her hand on the counter to steady herself, when she finally pulls the bottle away from her lips.

Still silent, she places the bottle on the counter next to him. She then leans in, her bare feet stretching to push herself onto her tiptoes, and lays a soft kiss on Mike's cheek. He closes his eyes, and appreciates the unspoken display of support from her.

Paige really is an expert agent. She knows exactly how to handle people. With Mike, she usually uses this skill to drive him crazy, but there are some rare moments like this when she gives him exactly what he needs.

When he opens his eyes again, Paige is gone, as quickly as she entered. Mike looks at the lipstick marks left behind on the bottle sitting on the counter. For the millionth time, he asks himself what he's doing here.

Mike takes one more shot from the bottle, but it's more to taste her than the booze. He finally puts the lid back on and returns the remaining vodka to the freezer.

He grabs another beer from the fridge and a piece of bread. He didn't have dinner after all, and he can already feel the booze starting to take effect.

He decides to take the beer with him to casually nurse as he walks along the beach. He needs a chance to clear his head.

His phone buzzes and he looks down to see a text from Abby that reads, "Hope you feel better soon! :("

The guilt feels like a noose around his neck. He shoves the bread in his mouth, and opens the fridge. He needs a backup beer. He doubts the one currently in his hand will last the flight of stairs to the beach.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** I'm starting to rush this to get it done by Thursday, so I didn't get a chance to really proof these two chapters I'm posting. Advanced apologies for typos. Thanks for the reviews!

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 7

When Mike gets back, the house is quiet. Seems like the guys aren't back from the bar yet. Maybe Johnny's wingman routine worked out for them afterall. Mike goes to the kitchen to see if he can find some leftovers to eat. The walk didn't succeed in clearing his head, but did make him realize that drinking heavily on an empty stomach was probably not the best way to deal with his problems.

He opens the refrigerator and finds nothing on his shelf. Jakes's shelf however has a leftover sandwich, that looks tempting enough to be worth Jakes's wrath. Mike will buy him a new sandwich tomorrow. He will buy him two new sandwiches.

"So you want to tell me what's got you so upset, that you're drinking alone?"

"I thought we agreed not to talk about this." Mike sighed at Paige's voice behind him, not taking his head out from the fridge.

"Well, you seemed upset at the time, so I let you mope. Now you look better. A little tipsy, but at least you're not still trying to give yourself alcohol poisoning. So talk to me." Paige says, perching herself on the kitchen counter.

"Who says I'm not?" Mike turns around, a new beer in hand rather than the forgotten sandwich.

"Ok fine, then at least toss me one too, so you're not drinking alone. That's just sad." Paige shakes her head at him.

He realizes he must look pathetic, but tonight he's reveling in it. She seems to insist that he be social though, so he grabs a beer from the fridge and tosses it across the kitchen to her. She makes a face.

"Oh no. Not that crap. Grab me the good stuff. Jakes keeps it on the back of his shelf. Behind the sandwich." Paige instructs.

"Ooh, toss me the sandwich too." She says upon further thought.

"Fine, but I'm telling him you took them. I won't take the blame for you, woman." *At least not again.* Mike adds silently.

He walks across the room and hands her the beer and sandwich. She happily scampers down from the countertop, with her stolen prizes, and ventures to the living room. She smacks the couch for him to come join her.

"Sit." She orders. He reluctantly sits down beside her, as instructed.

He's not in the mood to talk, but to his surprise they don't.

Paige returns to the paper she was reading and sips her beer. She is seemingly content that she can keep an eye on him here. He sits awkwardly at her side at first, waiting for the talking to commence, but then relaxes as he realizes she's not going to force him. She nibbles at the sandwich, holding it over her shoulder casually towards him every now and then, so he can lean in and take a bite.

Once the sandwich is gone (she let him eat most of it) Mike feels slightly better and is starting to realize he's getting groggy. He looks at his watch. It's almost two am.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asks sleepily, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Well, I just thought I'd stay up and catch up on some pleasure reading." She answers.

"Really? Reading?" He doesn't mean to sound as surprised as he does.

"Yes, I know you East Coast Intellectuals think you're the only bibliophiles on the planet, but just because we can out surf, out drink and out sex you, doesn't mean we don't enjoy some light pleasure reading, now and again." Paige mutters.

She keeps her eyes trained on the papers in front of her. Mike is skeptical, mainly because her eyes haven't moved from the same paragraph in two minutes. He snatches the paper from her, examining it's contents.

"Paige, you're reading a Supreme Court Ruling on federal marijuana laws. This can't be pleasure reading."

"I find mocking Scalia pleasurable, yes." Paige says, looking him straight in the eye and managing to keep a straight face.

"Were you waiting up on me?" He's gullible yes, and drunk but Mike's not stupid.

"Can't a girl get her SCOTUS on without getting interrogated?" Paige asks defensively.

Mike can tell her charade is falling apart. She was waiting up for him like he was a kid with a bedtime. The thought pisses him off.

"Paige, that ruling is like eight years old." She really needs to stop lying to him. She's not fooling anyone.

"Ok fine! I was worried. You looked really upset earlier. What happened?" Paige finally breaks down and asks.

"You know what? Thanks for the concern, but it's been a really long day, and I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed."

Mike stood up and prepared to leave. There were some things he just couldn't talk about with Paige. However, this was something Paige wanted to talk about, and she wasn't about to let him leave. She reached up and took his arm to stop him.

"Does it have anything to do with the date you were supposed to be on this evening?"

Mike sighs. He really didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to think about it, and even if he did, Paige was the last person he wanted to talk to about Abby with.

"That's part of it." He admits, gently pulling away from her hand on his wrist.

"What happened?" She continued prying. She obviously wasn't going to be satisfied until he relayed the whole story to her.

"Look, it just sucked, ok? The lying, the alibis, everything about this undercover dating game sucks. We were out to dinner, ran into one of Bello's guys and I had to fake a stomach ache to get her out of there. But it's cool, I'll just text her tomorrow and try to make up for it. Again." Mike can feel his blood pressure rising. It's a shame to think he was so calm and ready for bed just a minute ago.

"Why are you with her Mike?" Paige asks, standing up as well. She really just was not going to let this go.

"Fuck." Mike swears under his breath, turning away.

He is not having this conversation with her right now. Not when they are both tired, stressed and, he looks at the beer in his hand, a little drunk. Though he has to admit, here at Graceland the only time he isn't all three of these things seems to be when he has a gun pointed at his head.

"No, I seriously want to know. It's not good for your cover. You complain about the stress of it all the time. Why the fuck are you with this girl? Are you in love?" Her voice was rising. Paige has always had a temper.

Who the fuck is she to judge him? She was the one who forced Abby on him in the first place. What did she think was going to happen? Did she not think he was capable of picking up a girl and just wanted to watch him get shot down?

"Because I'm a man ok! I know you think of me as little Mikey, the new kid brother who only cares about work and the rules, but you know what? I have needs. And I'm not going to apologize for that. Least of all to you."

Right about this time, Mike thinks he would prefer a gun to the head over this conversation.

"What the fuck does that mean? Least of all to you."

"You're a smart girl, Paige." Mike brushes by her cooly. He takes an exaggerated casual sip of his beer and shouts back over his shoulder, "Figure it out!"

He doesn't look back as he strides towards the door. He doesn't need this. He isn't going to rise to her bait. He is now, more than ever, convinced that he needs refuge from the madness that is this house, and he knows exactly where he would find it. Abby's naïve, sweet, dull, (no, not dull, *stable*) presence is exactly what he needs. Exactly who he needs.

Mike is proud of himself for leaving. Sure, he lost his cool for a minute and resorted to yelling, but he is back under control and he's leaving before things get out of hand. He is not having this fight.

"No! Stay and fight you pussy!"

Suddenly his feet are kicked out from under him and he's falling. He catches himself quickly on the couch and the wall with a bang before he hits the floor.

Apparently the fight was just getting started, and it was getting physical.


	9. Chapter 8

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 8

Mike slowly brings himself to a standing position. He can't believe she stooped to that level and actually kicked him. Normal people did not do shit like that! She was such an immature spoiled child!

He can feel his blood pressure rising, but he takes deep breaths to calm himself. He cracks his neck, and rolls his shoulders back, preparing himself. He knows she wants a fight, but he will not give her the satisfaction of a response. Once he's sure he's under control he turns to face her.

"You made me spill my beer." He says simply.

Mike takes a long controlled swig from his bottle. His eyes remain locked with hers the whole time. It was clearly not the reaction she expected, and he's appreciating the anger flashing in her eyes.

If there is one thing Mike Warren has it is self-control.

Paige does not.

Paige reaches forward, rips the beer bottle from his smug mouth, and throws it across the room. The glass shatters somewhere in the corner, but both sets of eyes remain locked with the other's. The tension builds between them, getting thicker and more suffocating until Mike finally breaks it. Smiling what he hopes is a casual smirk he shrugs.

"Fine by me, it's Briggs's turn to clean the living room anyway."

"So your answer is she lets you fuck her? That's why you're making yourself miserable?"

Paige will not let him get away that easily. She clearly has decided they are going to talk about this, but Mike refuses to rise to her taunting. He just stands his ground and lets her continue. She would wear herself out eventually.

"Look at yourself Mike. You could get laid anywhere!"

"Oh, but-" He opens his mouth to reply, but she preemptively cuts him off.

"And don't even tell me the sex with her is 'special', because I refuse to believe that your little Miss Ivy League Princess is THAT good in bed." She pauses to give him a pointed look, daring him to contradict her.

"…Unless you have a fetish for cardigan sweaters and enjoy your lights-out, five minutes of vanilla missionary sex before the obvious highlight, the *spooning*."

She emphasizes the last word with dripping sarcasm. When he doesn't respond she continues.

"...Before slipping into the bathroom once she falls asleep to finish yourself off in the toilet."

Mike winces. The scene she describes is a little too close for comfort, and for a brief moment Mike wonders if Paige had somehow slipped a video camera into Abby's apartment. Still, he gives no verbal response.

"If that's it Mike, you could jerk off here, and quite frankly, I suspect the toilets here at Graceland have better porn."

Still not getting a response, she leans in close, placing one hand on his shoulder. The other hand cups around her lips, which she presses close to his ear, to whisper her last taunt like a well-guarded secret. "I've looked. Johnny's a porn connoisseur."

She pulls away smugly, expecting to at last have brought a rise out of his composed mask. Instead he just stands there, still and blank. He is no longer even making eye contact. Just staring straight ahead, like a statue.

The problem is, he knows that what she's saying makes sense, and that pisses him off even more. What makes him the most angry, however, is that the space where her hand was placed on his shoulder feels like it's on fire. Her seductive purr in his ear sent shivers down his spine. The fact that he can be so angry at her and simultaneously so turned on, just makes him more of both.

So he does the only thing he can think of, he shuts down. Just stands there, forcing himself to stare straight ahead. Don't look at her. Don't engage.

She stands there for a second, probably evaluating what he's doing. Finally, she lets out a growl of frustration and turns away punching the couch. The poor couch was probably a substitution for Mike. She braces herself on the couch for a moment, her breath coming out in rough breaths. When she finally speaks again her voice is quiet, sad and serious.

"Look, you're going to get yourself killed. She's making you moody and distracted. End it."

This change in tone sets Mike on edge more than her screaming ever could. He has never heard Paige this serious before. She is light. She is happy. She is damn good at her job but she is never serious. This change wins an honest explanation from him, or at least an attempted half-truth. He doesn't know if he knows what the truth is anymore.

"Paige," His voice cracks and he clears his throat.

Running his hand down his face, he shakes his head. He can't believe he's going to talk about this. He averts his eyes to the floor.

"Out here, I feel like I'm always screwing up. Like I can't trust anyone. I've done things I never thought I'd do, and sometimes I just hate myself. I just need someone who loves me. She does that."

He sounds lost, even to himself. He is tired. Why does she have to keep pushing him? He looks up at her with pleading eyes, hoping she will just let it rest.

"Bullshit."

Paige is apparently unmoved by his vulnerability.

"She doesn't know who you are! Maybe you like being with her because she reminds you of the guy you used to be back at the academy, but you're not that guy any more, Mike."

"Well I can't tell her who I am, now can I, Paige? I can't tell anyone."

"That's the job! You can't break your cover, and you can't get too close."

"I'm not you Paige! I can't just flirt with whoever happens to be closest and not care!"

She's gotten under his skin. Now he is right at her level, matching her intensity with his screaming. The only problem is, her flirting and not caring is not what has him so mad. That's just who Paige is. It's her flirting with HIM and not caring. And if he's truly honest, he doesn't mind the flirting part.

"Well you're gonna have to learn! Because at Graceland, the only things you can afford to care about are the job and the house."

"Fuck! I don't even know what I'm doing here. I didn't sign up for this. All I wanted was to be in DC!"

Mike finds himself laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. A desperate, sardonic laugh. He never wanted to be here, living this lie, always one mistake away from getting shot, screaming at a woman who didn't want him. He isn't this guy. He is always calm and in control. He had it together, at least he thought he did before he came here.

"So what? It's a little difficult, so you're going to just give up?" She challenges him.

Mike's drunken brain was having trouble following her thought process. In all fairness however, he didn't want to blame the booze, the girl was just nuts. She shoved him at Abby, then told him to dump her, and now she's telling him not to give up? What does she want from him?

Mike is getting angry again. What business of it was hers anyway? She had made it damn clear she didn't want him, so what did she care who he fucked. Suddenly something clicks for Mike.

Something in her phrasing, makes him stop and reevaluate her. She wasn't worried for the house. This was about her. She was jealous. She was doing a piss poor job of expressing it, hell she might not even realize it, but now replaying the whole night it made sense. She was jealous. He would have thought this information would make him happy, but surprisingly it just pissed him off even more. How long would he need to wait for her to figure out her feelings?

"You shouldn't give up on Graceland. Sure, it can get hard, but the house has to come first. Always. If you want to run off to Baltimore-" She continues yelling, unaware of his sudden revelation, until he suddenly cuts her off with a scream of his own.

"I never knew you were an option!"

As soon as the words are out of his mouth he realizes his mistake but it's too late. Paige freezes in place, for once shocked into silence. She's staring at him with a horrified look plastered across her face. She looks like she may slap him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." Mike starts to apologize, to backtrack and rephrase, but the words are out there. And in truth, he did mean it. He would have never started dating Abby if he thought for one second he had a chance with Paige.

He decides the damage is done. There's no turning back now. He takes a deep breath and steps forward until he's standing right in front of her. He realizes this puts him in danger of another physical attack from her, but he doesn't care.

"I didn't know." He repeats. "I mean, I hoped, but you're so hard to read, and then there was the Abby thing and I just assumed..." Mike trails off, realizing he doesn't have a clue what to say.

She is still staring at him with that deer-in-headlights expression. He sighs in frustration. All night long he hasn't been able to shut her up, and now when he needs her to say something, she's mute.

"I'll make this simple for you. I may complain, but I'm not going anywhere. I've been given an assignment and I'm prepared to see it through. And I'm going to keep dating Abby, unless you give me one damn good reason not to."

"I've already told you-" Paige stammers.

"Don't play dumb, Paige. It doesn't suit you."

Mike is drunk, angry, and tired. Tired of her acting like there isn't something between them. This can not all be in his head.

"Give. Me. A. Reason." He growls.

She stands there silently glaring up at him. Her face is set in a stubborn scowl and her eyes are flashing with anger, but she doesn't speak. They both stand there, and Mike's patience is wearing thin. His world was crumbling before his eyes, and he was too tired and drunk to do anything about it.

"Ten seconds, Paige. I'll give you ten seconds, and then I'm going to bed. Ten. . . Nine. . ."

Paige does not respond well to threats. He doesn't even get to eight before she decides to speak.

"Fine. Marry the bitch for all I care. Get yourself killed, but don't you dare take the house down with you. And for god's sake stop whining about it all the time. It's pathetic."

"You know what Paige?!" Mike starts to shout but then stops and collects himself. He's so angry, he can't even look at her anymore.

"Fuck it! I'm done! Have a nice night, I'm going to Abby's." He yells as he storms towards the door.

"To accomplish what? It's two in the morning and she thinks you have food poisoning!" Paige reminds him.

"Oh yeah? Well, suddenly I'm miraculously cured! Now if you'll excuse, me I'm going to go have some vanilla cardigan sex!"

Mike is so enraged that he's pretty sure he's not even making sense anymore. Whatever he's saying is clearly pissing her off though, so it's accomplishing his purpose.

"Well then make sure you take this! You'll need it for the bathroom later!" She yells reaching down to the coffee table, grabbing a magazine and chucking it at his head. The magazine lands short and he stares at it, perplexed.

"This is a Guns & Ammo magazine!"

The fact that her insult fell short due to lack of porn within hurling distance doesn't even seem to phase Paige.

"Yeah? Well, it's still sexier than your girlfriend!"

The maturity level of this fight had definitely regressed to a new low. Really the only way this fight could get any more immature is for someone to stick their tongue out at the other. Mike, for a shameful moment, actually is tempted to do so. He resists, but is unable to think of a more appropriate response. So instead, he just storms out the door, completely abandoning his shoes, wallet, and jacket in the house.

As he storms down the flight of stairs, he doesn't feel a sense of accomplishment at finally ending the fight. He thought he would. He'd only been trying to end the conversation for the past hour. He looks back to the door, hoping she will continue being a pain-in-the-butt and not let him leave. Force him to have this conversation.

But this time she lets him go.


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** So apparently I have just given up on proofreading, but I've promised myself I will meet this deadline. So here's the next chapter. Enjoy! I actually talk about coffee in this one.

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 9

The alarm clock buzzes beside him, but Mike is already awake.

What he did last night can't really be qualified as sleep. He just stared at the same spot on the ceiling, his mind racing, as he replayed the night's conversation over and over. The few times he did drift off, his mind kept working, and then everything blurred together into a dreamlike state. He now isn't sure of what is real.

He was at least sober enough to make the wise decision not to go to Abby's last night. However, he wasn't about to admit that to Paige, so he instead stayed out on the beach until he saw her bedroom light go off and then snuck back up to his room.

He is hungover and exhausted. Regardless, he rolls out of bed. He runs his fingers through his hair, tempted to scream into the silent morning, but instead just grabs his shoes and throws on his running clothes. Maybe his morning run will help.

He pauses outside Paige's door, listening for any movement inside. He simultaneously yearns and dreads seeing her again. He knows that last night's conversation is going to change things. It's out there now and he can't take it back.

He considers knocking, but he doesn't even know what he would say, so he just continues down the hall. Once he gets to the door, he breaks out into a sprint. The irony does not escape him that he is literally running away from his problems.

By the time Mike is done with his run, his head is clear. He had to run an extra 10 miles to get it that way, and his muscles are screaming at him from the extra stress, but he finally feels like he has a solution. He will just sit Paige down and talk to her like a grownup.

Of course they're attracted to each other and they're great friends, but they are professionals. There's no need to make anything weird out of it. He'll suggest they go out to dinner, and see how that goes. If she turns him down, at least he'll have his answer.

He stops by the Starbucks on the corner to order two drinks. One for her, and one for him. His plan is solid. They will sit down and talk over coffee and perhaps her signature skinny double-dirty chai will serve as a peace offering. If it happens to make her realize how thoughtful he is and how well he knows her, well that's just a bonus.

When he gets back to the house however, Paige is already gone. Briggs says she's out on assignment, but Mike knows this is bullshit. None of Paige's contacts are awake at 9am. She's hiding from him. He writes "Let's talk." on her coffee cup and chooses to leave it beside her bed. He spends about five minutes contemplating whether he should draw a smiley face. He decides against it.

After placing her coffee cup on her nightstand, carefully positioned where she will see it, he quietly backs out of Paige's room. He makes sure to silently close the door, then turns around and crashes straight into Charlie.

His cup of hot coffee splashes down his bare arm and he squeals in a mixture in surprise. He instantly wishes he had made a more manly sound, and feels that once again, he has proven just how far away he is from being a macho super stealthy spy.

"So Mikey's providing room delivery coffee service now?" Charlie asks playfully.

"Can we please just not mention this?" He blushes, wiping his arm on his shirt.

"Mention what?" She grins, giving him a knowing look.

"Thank you." He sighs, grateful that it was Charlie, and not one of the other guys, who caught him sneaking out of Paige's room.

"Thank you!" She responds, taking his half-full cup of coffee from his hand as she continues down the hall. She takes a sip and grimaces, calling back over her shoulder, "Next time no cream! You're not on the east coast anymore. Drink like a man!"

* * *

It has been four days since Mike has seen Paige at the house. He hopes the milk in her chai latte has curdled and spoiled next to her bed.

His phone alerts him that he has a text and he dives for it, but it's not from Paige. It's from Abby asking where he's been this week, and he realizes that he's been avoiding her as much as Paige is avoiding him.

He groans, he doesn't even know what to say to her. That's not true. He knows what to say. He should apologize like crazy, put Paige out of his mind and focus on Abby. He has his answer, Paige wants nothing to do with him.

"Sorry I've been MIA. Dinner tonight to make it up to you? :)" He reads aloud as he texts, but before he can hit send, there's a knock on his door. He stashes his phone guiltily under his pillow, though he's not sure why.

Charlie peeks her head into his bedroom. She sees his guilty face and asks, "Porn?"

He shakes his head.

"Texting." He says, clearing his throat, realizing he looks guilty. She waits for him to elaborate. "Girl problems. How can I help you?" Mike says, changing the topic quickly.

"What you up to tonight? I need your help on a little project." She leans casually against his door frame.

"Tonight's my night off, Charlie. I've got plans."

"Cancel them." She shrugs.

"Charlie, I can't blow this girl off again. I'm in trouble as it is."

"She'll forgive that handsome face. C'mon you'll like this one. I promise."

"What is it?" Mike's curiosity gets the better of him.

"It's an undercover assignment. I need you to make a delivery for me." He groans. "...To Paige."

"Why can't you do it?" He's suspicious. She's trying to play it cool, but she's meddling. Charlie always meddles.

"Because I'm cultivating a CI tonight. That, and it's a college party. You and Johnny are the only one's who can pass as drunk teenagers."

"Then just let Johnny go!" Mike complains. This is not how he wanted to run into Paige again. Not while she was on a job. She would think he was stalking her.

"He is going." Mike raises a suspicious eyebrow at Charlie. She was such a mother, always wanting to fix everything. "But Johnny's a horndog, and I'm not sending him into a house full of half naked college girls alone. I need you to go and babysit."

"What makes you so sure I can handle myself in a house of half naked college girls?"

"Because Paige needs this, so I know you'll deliver." Charlie says, tossing him a small package which he catches effortlessly. He's not sure if he's that obvious, or if Charlie is just that observant, but they both know she's right.


	11. Chapter 10

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 10

Mike looks back in shock at the 50 foot fire that was, a few minutes ago, the college beach house.

Ashes are falling from the sky like snowflakes. He just stands there gaping in total shock. A little voice in the back of his brain warns him he's probably breathing in toxic fumes, but he can't look away.

That did not go as expected. Everything just escalated so quickly.

He tries to pinpoint the moment when everything went wrong, but the blood is pounding in his ears and he just can't remember.

He remembers Paige. He remembers her face when she first saw him there. Panicked at first, but she recovered quickly. If he had blinked he would have missed it. She was truly a pro, with how fast she had returned to her party girl persona. She was laughing, and flirtatiously left the man's lap she was perched on to excuse herself to the bathroom. Casting Mike the barest hint of a glance, before he followed her. Leaving Johnny behind to- JOHNNY!

"We have to go back. We lost Johnny!" Mike starts to run towards the fire, but Paige jumps on his back. She's doing her best to hold him back, trying to keep him a safe distance away on the beach, but he's much stronger than her.

"No! We have to get out of here." Paige yells in Mike's ear. "Mike! Johnny's fine. I saw him getting into an ambulance. He was conscious. He'll be fine, Mike. We've got to get out of here before people ask too many questions." Once Mike stops resisting, the petite blonde slowly slides down his back. She moves cautiously, making sure he has control and is not in danger of doing something stupid.

Somewhere in his brain, Mike knows she's behind him holding onto him, but he's unable to move his eyes away from the house. He can see the ambulance lights flickering around the rubble. He sees the fire trucks, but they seem to have no idea how to even start putting out a fire of this size. He tries to process her words. Tries to slow his heart that is pounding in his chest.

"Mike. We have to go."

He allows her to take him by the hand and pull him down the beach. They move quickly, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the crime scene as possible. They run until the house is just a glow in the distance. Mike's lungs feel like they're on fire.

When he can't run anymore Mike stops, coughing and sputtering for breath. Paige crashes into his back, knocking him forward. He hits the ground hard, bruising his knees, but he scrambles back to his feet quickly. The adrenaline is still coursing through his blood. Now that he's over the initial shock, he's pissed.

"You didn't tell me it was a fucking Meth lab!" Mike's yells dissolve into a fit of coughs. The toxic smog from the house definitely got in his lungs.

"What were you even doing here Mike?! This wasn't your mission!" She screams right back at him in between coughs, shoving his chest hard even as he keens for breath.

"Charlie sent me! And it's a good thing she did. You could have been killed!" Mike isn't retreating. He grabs her wrists as she attempts to shove him again. He holds her hands close to his chest to stop her assault. She squirms against him, still fighting.

"I was fine until you showed up!" She insists, and Mike can't tell if she means tonight or in general.

She jerks her wrists away and he lets her go, but the second she's free she comes back to shove his chest again. He grabs her by the shoulders and wraps his arms around her. He presses her firmly into him, pinning her arms between them, and cradling her head to his chest forcefully. She struggles, but they both know if she really wanted to get away from him she could have. He holds her there until she finally stops fighting him.

Only once she stills does he realize how close they are. He can smell her hair as it blows against his face in the wind. It smells slightly singed. God, how close was he to losing her? He can feel her small hands flatten against his chest, and wonders if she can hear his heart racing.

This is the first time he's been this close to her since four nights ago, when the tension had boiled over and he had admitted he had feelings for her. Shouted them at her was probably more like it.

He wants to pull back and examine her for any burns or other injuries, to make sure she is unharmed. On the other hand, he doesn't want to break the rare spell of intimacy that seems to be cast around them. He wants to stay exactly like this, feeling her breath ghosting against his skin.

Unfortunately, in their line of work, moments like this never seem to last. Over her shoulder, he sees the police talking to people on the beach, heading in their direction.

"Paige, don't look now, but the cops are questioning people, and we look about as guilty as possible." He whispers in her ear.

She slowly leans back. Looking casually over her shoulder, she then turns back to hug him closer, looking ahead over his.

"Follow me." She whispers in a quiet, almost seductive murmur.

He doesn't know what her plan is, but he would follow her anywhere when she talks like that. She leads him by the hand a little ways up the beach. Looking around, she ducks into a small unoccupied tent, pulling him in behind her.

He turns around to zip up the tent, and then, kneeling in it's small confines, turns around to face her. "Ok, we should come up with an alibi. I think-"

His words are cut off by her lips on his.


	12. Chapter 11

**WARNING! READ THIS FIRST:**

This Chapter is nothing but smut.

If you are not comfortable reading poorly written graphic descriptions of hetero sex acts between two consenting adults SKIP THIS CHAPTER. I promise you will not miss any plot. I can sum up this whole chapter in one sentence for you: "They have loud sex which Mike enjoys."

That being said, if you only go to the M-rated category for the dirty bits, enjoy. And if you've skipped the first 11 chapters just to read this part WELCOME.

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 11

Her lips are on his.

She is on her knees in front of him, pressing up against his chest, kissing him. The walls of the tent make it feel like their own little world. A world where Paige is kissing him. In this world, Mike quickly forgets about any dangers that may be outside.

He tentatively brings one hand up to cradle her face. The other hand rests lightly on her waist. He kisses her back cautiously. He still doesn't fully understand what is happening here, but whatever it is, he wants it to happen.

"Wait. Paige. What brought this on?" His question is cut off by her mouth insistently pressing against his, and he realizes he really doesn't care. He deepens the kiss, and basks in the soft noise she makes as his tongue finds entrance to her mouth.

Her fingers are rooted in his hair. His are trying to touch every inch of her at once.

Her hands come to his shoulders. For a brief moment Mike fears she will push him away, but she only wants to urgently strip his jacket from his body. She squeezes his biceps appreciatively as she discards the unneeded garment.

He grins into the kiss, emboldened with the knowledge that this is actually happening. He brings his hands up to tangle in her hair, his nervousness being washed away with each swipe of her tongue against his. She greedily reaches down to the hemline of his shirt, clawing at it, until he breaks away from the kiss and helps her yank the offending article over his head.

When he's finally shirtless their lips crash together again, a blur of teeth and tongues. He runs his hands along her sides. Her lips leave his to press against his jaw, his throat, his neck. He closes his eyes and gets lost in the sensation, silently willing her to leave her mark on him. He wants proof once this is all over, because he still can't believe it's happening.

"Paige, I..." Words are failing him. All of his blood is rushing south, and he can't seem to focus on anything that isn't her mouth. "Is this... What..." He's panting. Struggling to form a single coherent sentence as she kisses roughly along his jaw.

"Don't you dare start thinking." She growls dangerously, ripping her own shirt over her head.

Mike feels all the air disappear from his lungs at the sight of her bra clad breasts rising up and down with each strained breath.

He can barely process the sight before him. Her arms stretched up over her head. Her hair dangerously disheveled. Her denim skirt hiked up her thighs. Her lips swollen and glistening with his saliva.

Thinking is just out of the question.

He reaches for her. Pressing one hand to the small of her back, he arches her body against his, as he dips his tongue into the declivity near her collarbone. He carefully maps a trail from her shoulder to her neck pausing to pay extra attention to where the two meet. He sucks lightly there, savoring the rapid pulse he feels fluttering under his lips. Her fingernails dig deep into his shoulder and she lets out a soft moan. It is the sexiest sound he has ever heard.

"Do you know how long I've wanted this?" He whispers in her ear. She gasps as his tongue flicks into her ear cavity, and whimpers when his teeth sink into the fleshy lobe.

"Take off your pants." She orders huskily.

He doesn't want to take his hands off of her, but reluctantly obeys her command.

He quickly unhooks his belt and unbuttons his jeans, but his fingers are fumbling nervously. It's not that Mike is insecure in his lovemaking skills. He's received top marks from all his exes. But this is Paige, and he doesn't want to screw this up.

He watches her lean back, until she's laying flat on the floor, hand reached out in a silent invitation to join her. Before he can even get his pants down, she yanks him down so quickly that he loses his balance and lands hard on top of her. He scrambles to support his weight with his arms, worried he's crushed her, but Paige does not seem even fazed.

She wraps her lean legs around him. Her skirt is now hiked up to her waist. She nudges his pants down his thighs with her feet, until they are a pool of fabric around his knees.

He hovers over her, strategizing. Planning his next move. He thinks his best choice will be to kiss his way down her stomach, rid her of that stupid skirt, and then wrap her thighs around his head until-

Before Mike can put any of his grand plans into action, Paige wraps one sculpted limb around him, the heel of her foot digging into his ass. The other foot presses to the ground for leverage, allowing her to raise her hips up to meet his.

He gasps at the sensation of her grinding against the bare flesh of his erect cock. Things are escalating so quickly. He never imagined the night would lead to this. He needs to slow things down. He needs to make this special for her. Needs to show her how special she is to him.

He tenderly brushes her hair back from her face and leans down slowly to gently touch his lips to hers.

Paige would have none of it.

She bites his bottom lip roughly, reaching up to grasp his neck, pulling him forcefully down to her hungry mouth. Her other hand slides between them, reaching down to brush her panties aside and guide his hardened shaft to her entrance. He freezes at the feeling of her wet heat against the tip of his cock.

"Wait. I mean, Paige are you sure? Are you ready, because I want-" the words melt on his lips into a guttural groan as she thrusts her hips upwards, enveloping him inside her.

For a moment time stands still. All Mike can see is white hot flashes that burn his brain and, through them, her perfect face. He sucks in deep breaths, feeling her walls clasping him as he stretches her intimately to accommodate him. He buries his head in the crook of her neck with a hissed obscenity, forcing himself to be still. Allowing her time to adjust to his intrusion.

When he feels her grip on his neck loosen, he pulls out slowly, before thrusting back into her. Her hips come up to meet his, and they quickly fall into a shared rhythm. Her body rises and falls to meet his like the waves of the ocean outside the tent.

She always seems to be one beat ahead of him. Coaxing him with her hands, hips, and mouth to move faster- Always faster. She can take it. He's sure she can, but not sure he'd be able to. He's already drowning in her. He wants this moment to last forever, but with the sound of her cries in his ear, her fingers wrapped in his hair and, god- her nails clenching against his ribs, he knows he'll be lucky if he lasts five minutes.

With heroic effort, he pushes away from her, repositioning himself up on his knees. Away from her fingers and lips. Putting even this small amount of distance between them aches, but is necessary if this is to last. The consolation is, from this angle, he gets to watch while he fucks her. He needs to be able to see her. More importantly he wants to make sure she sees him. So she knows it is him, and no one else, who is making her feel so good.

He wraps both her slim legs around his waist, and begins to thrust into her at a slower, steadier pace, making sure he hits the sensitive knot inside her each time. The one that makes her cry out and bite her lip.

He uses one hand to guide her hips against his, and presses his other hand to her lower stomach until he can feel his dick thrusting against the thin barrier of taut skin and muscle. He uses his thumb to rub slow firm circles around her clit and she cries out, arching up to try to increase her contact.

Without him near enough to hold, her hands search wildly for something to grab onto. He watches lustfully as one hand goes to her breast. He watches her squeeze it, as the other bounces freely in time with his thrusts. Her other hand goes up and pulls on her own hair with such force that her head snaps backwards, exposing the arch of her neck fully to Mike's view. He notes with satisfaction a red welt forming at the base, which he had coaxed into existence with his mouth just minutes ago.

A particularly deep thrust elicits a pleasured yelp from her. Her hand flies to her mouth. She bites down and then sucks on a finger seductively. Her eyes are closed, and he wishes she would look at him. Yet, her closed eyes provide him with a voyeuristic pleasure as he watches her hands switch between her breasts, her mouth, and hair. Sometimes she just claws the ground beside her as if looking for something to anchor her to the earth.

Finally her eyes appear from under long eyelashes, focusing on him, and she reaches down for his thumb that's rubbing her clit. Taking it in one hand, she quickly replaces it with her own, stroking herself in tandem to his thrusts. Mike fears that he might have been doing it wrong, and feels a flush of embarrassment, but cannot break away from her gaze. She brings his now free hand up to her lips and sucks greedily on his fingers. The sight of her is so damn sexy he has to shut his eyes or risk ending things now. He realizes this isn't a reprimand. This is his reward.

His thrusts become more urgent. Their moans become louder. His fingers slip seductively in and out of her mouth. Her talented tongue is curling around them. Her cheeks hollow as she sucks him in, until his fingers hit the back of her throat, and it feels like silk. She chokes slightly, and he immediately withdraws his fingers, not wanting to hurt her.

As he removes his hand, she pouts like a child losing her favorite toy. He brings it to his mouth, tasting her on his fingers. She is watching him through eyes heavily lidded with lust. He stretches one of her flexible legs straight up in the air until he's hooked her ankle over his shoulder. He angles her hips and drives harder into her.

As he thrusts deeper and deeper inside her, she begins to moan a string of incoherent words, "Mike! Yes. Oh god yes, fuck yes. Right there. Keep going. Harder. Harder, oh fuck. Yes, please! Oh my fucking god, yes, fuck. Right there. Mike. Oh my- MIKE! GOD YES! FUCK ME PLEASE!"

He moans at her sudden loquaciousness, and slides himself forward, pinning her leg between them. Using his arms to frame either side of her head, his breath hot in her ear, he responds only slightly more intelligibly.

"Paige, fuck I'm close. I've wanted you for so long. I can't believe this is happening. You feel so good, Paige. So good. Come for me please. I need you to come. Just tell me what to do. Paige, god. I'd do anything for you. You know I- Paige, you have to know."

"Mike, oh god oh god oh my, ah, yes, keep going. Just like that- oh, I'm going to come. Mike, ah- MIKE! FUCK! FUCK ME MIKE! MIKE! OH GOD, FUCK! MIKE!" She is screaming and trembling around him, and he watches as her eyes roll back in her head and her mouth falls open.

He tries to hold off. Tries to let her ride out her moment, but watching her face as she releases. Hearing his name spill from her lips. Feeling her spasming all around him. It's too much.

"Paige, I need to pull out, I'm going to-" He barely chokes the words out, because it's taking every ounce of focus he possesses to keep from spilling inside her right then.

"Don't you dare." She gasps, wrapping her legs tighter around him, locking him inside her.

It's all the encouragement he needs and he repeatedly slams hard into her with unbridled abandonment. All worries of hurting her are gone. There is only one thought in his mind and that is the knowledge that she wants him to come inside her.

He thrusts deeply into her. Somewhere he thinks he hears a carnal howl that can't possibly be coming from him. With one final thrust, he sheaths himself completely inside her. Spurting his seed deeply inside her, he fills her in the oldest most intimate way possible. He can feel it overflowing around the base of his cock, their mingled juices dripping down his balls.

The strength in his arms gives out and he slumps on top of her, completely spent. He is softening inside of her, but can't bring himself to break their connection just yet. Her chest heaves underneath him. He brushes the hair back from her sweaty forehead, kissing her sloppily on her lips, face, neck, whatever he can reach without moving. After his breath and thought processing abilities return to him, he realizes his weight must be getting uncomfortable for her, so he reluctantly rolls off to the side, collapsing in a heap.

"I'm going to check the perimeter." She is up on her feet in an instant, grabbing her shirt from the corner, and adjusting her skirt. She exits the tent before she even puts her shirt back on. The moonlight from outside illuminates her in the doorway of the tent, making her glow like an angel. Mike notes with lust the dribble of his cum seeping down her leg. The sight gives him a primal pleasure of possession, to know a part of him is still inside her.

He lies back, breathing heavily, trying to process what just happened. He has a stupid grin on his face, and he resists the urge to punch the air with joy. There will be time for celebrating later. Right now, she's right. They are still in the middle of a mission and should get their bearings.

He pulls his pants back up and finds his own shirt and jacket lying in a heap in the corner. He redresses quickly. The thin fabric of his t-shirt clings to his sweaty frame, and he decides against wearing the jacket. He tries to compose himself, but fails to wipe the stupid grin from his face. He finally gives up trying and heads out of the tent to join her. Grinning as wide as the first night he met her.


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Almost Finished! Only one more chapter to go after this!

If you liked this story, please give me reviews on pros and cons, and go read it's other half "Skinny Double Dirty Chai" (not yet posted, but should be up tomorrow). It's my companion piece for this story that tells the story from Paige's POV, Since Mike clearly has no idea what she's thinking most the time. If anyone would like to beta it for me, I'd appreciate it.

**Thanks:** THANKS for the reviews, follows, and reading!

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 12

Paige is standing with her back to him, staring out at the ocean when Mike emerges from the tent. He walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. He kisses her shoulder gently.

"I didn't picture you as such a screamer." Mike teases softly, laughing into her neck as he nuzzles her. He is on cloud nine. This was incredible.

"I'm not, but at least the police are nowhere to be seen, right?" Paige shrugs, pulling her shirt back on over her head and looking down to straighten her skirt. Mike feels like a bucket of cold water has just been dumped on him.

"Wait, you used me?!" Suddenly the sex haze clears from his brain and everything starts to come together. He releases her like she is on fire, and falls back three steps, trying to give himself room to process. He was quick enough that the full picture came together at a rapid pace, but Mike still couldn't believe it. Well he should, it was Paige. She used sex like a tool to get the job done. Everyone lied out here.

"Well in all fairness, you used me pretty well too. I'm supposed to go horseback riding tomorrow through a pot farm." She jokes, still messing with her skirt and not making eye contact.

"So that was all an act?"

"Mmmm..." She makes a noncommittal murmur, "things did get a little carried away there, huh?"

"Wait, so that- so you were just faking it for the police? Did you even-" His voice drops to a low whisper, "Did you have an orgasm?"

She laughs a genuine laugh. He feels his heart break.

"Aw Levi, you sound so textbook sometime."

The dreaded nickname did not escape his attention. Nor did the fact that she didn't answer his question. A part of him knew she couldn't have faked that. Paige was a talented actress, but no one was that good. The moment she had reached completion was burned into his brain. He had felt her quiver around him, but that didn't mean he didn't need to hear her say it outloud.

"Paige." He grabs her arm, "Please."

"Mike," For a second he fears she's about to make another joke, but she seems to see something in his face that stops her. Paige is many things, but she's not cruel.

"Yes." She says simply, but does not seem happy admitting it. It wasn't enough. He needed to hear the actual words.

"Yes, I had an orgasm." She rolled her eyes at the use of the word. He should feel relieved, but somehow her cavalier attitude just made it worse.

"Look it's been a long night, let's just head home." She turns to walk down the beach towards Graceland, not waiting to see if he was following her.

"Paige." She stops as he says her name, but doesn't look back. "So that's it. That's all you have to say to me? It didn't mean anything to you? I was just part of your cover?"

"What do you want me to say, Mike? I didn't plan on the fucking house blowing up tonight, and I certainly didn't plan on fucking you."

Her angry side is coming out. Why was it, every time he talked to her they ended up in a shouting match?

"And after your grand fucking entrance at the house, all determined to 'save me,' I didn't have a lot of options! I went with the first plan I thought of, and guess what? It worked." She defends herself.

"Well, it was a shit plan!" Mike yells in frustration.

Paige sighs. "Look it was just sex, Levi-"

"Stop calling me that! It's Mike."

"Everyone-"

"I don't care about everyone. You. You don't get to call me that."

He is dead set on this. He cannot stand the thought of her thinking of him like her idiot kid brother who accidentally bought a truck full of jeans the first day on the job. He had proved to her time and time again that he could take care of himself. That he could take care of her.

"Look it was just sex. Was it a good cover for the cops? Yes, but I wouldn't advise putting it in your case report."

"How stupid do you think I am?" They were both yelling at the top of their lungs. The cops would probably come back to investigate a domestic disturbance at this rate. His hands are balled into fists at his sides and she looks like she might slap him.

"Don't go getting all sappy on me here, Mike. I'm a big girl. You don't have to date me. It doesn't have to mean something. I'm not Abby."

"I'm not- Oh, my god Abby. I completely forgot about Abby. I just cheated on Abby." She might as well have slapped him. The entire night he had not once thought about Abby. A whole new level of complication invaded his mind.

"Calm down. Jesus! It's not like you're married."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not this guy. I don't cheat. I have to tell her, I can't keep this from her."

Maybe Paige was the type of girl who could sleep with random guys, lying to them, and then leaving, but it didn't come so easily to Mike.

"Look Mike, it was no big deal. It was a one time thing. Part of the job. You don't have to tell her."

"You really believe that? Now that you've fucked me you're done? Because a few days ago you were telling me to dump her."

"I was telling you not to get too attached, and that's still true. Falling in love leads to nothing but trouble, if not worse. Attachment compromises the mission and puts everyone at Graceland at risk. Look at Donny and Lauren. "

"Look at me, Paige. You know me! Christ, you're one of the only people who does." He shakes his head and looks away. This had been a terrible mistake. His voice is a low desperate whisper now, "You should know, I can't NOT get attached."

"Mike. Don't make this a big deal. Don't let this change things." She is starting to panic at the intensity in his voice. He should have known earlier. Paige doesn't do serious. She wants to keep things light and simple.

"Look Paige, I am already attached. I have been attached since the second I saw you in that bar." It was cards on the table time. He is so tired of lying to everyone. To her.

"I think you are the most amazing and terrifying woman I have ever met. You are challenging and frustrating, but I want that." He clears his throat. He's here already, he needs to say it, and say it clearly, "I want you Paige." He pauses to look at her face. She is staring at him stubbornly, her face betraying nothing.

He steps forward to her, taking her stubborn face in his hands, tilting it up to his. He wants to watch her eyes to make sure there is no miscommunication between them. He needs to know she understands the full sincerity and meaning behind his words.

"And have no doubt, that I am most definitely compromised when it comes to you. And I was before we ever entered that tent."

She stares up into his eyes, looking for something. He isn't sure what, but he holds his breath waiting for her to find it. Finally, she lowers his hands from her face, taking them in her own and looking up at him with apologetic eyes.

"I'm not that girl, Mike. She's an illusion. I am my job, and this can't happen."

He lets go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding. That's it then. He tried. He leans forward and presses his shaking lips to her forehead in forgiveness, closing his eyes tight. If he closes his eyes tight enough, maybe this pain would all disappear and he would open them to a world where she wanted him too.

"I have to go file a report. I'll see you back at the house." He chokes out, turning and walking hurriedly away, leaving her standing on the beach. He can't look back.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes:** This is my final Chapter!

If you liked it, please follow my new story "Skinny Double Dirty Chai" which is this same story from Paige's POV, (God bless character's who can't express their feelings, so much writing material). It's not just the same thing written again, it shows new scenes as well.

I've enjoyed writing this story and hearing from you all!

-J

* * *

**Coffee With Cream**

Chapter 13

Curled up in bed alone, Mike feels defeated. All he wants is to fall asleep and never wake up again, but he can't turn his brain off. He just lays there, replaying the night's events over and over again in his mind. He had showered when he got back to the house, but he can still feel the ghost of Paige's touch on his skin. He anxiously wets his bruised lips for the hundredth time that night. They still taste like salt and her.

Just as Mike's resigning himself to the fact that he may need to sneak down to the kitchen and steal some of Brigg's rum if he's ever going to get any sleep, (it's scary how quickly he's taking after his mentor), the door to his room creaks open. His whole body tenses. He keeps his eyes shut, and tries to fake sleep. Mentally he prepares to lunge for his gun on the nightstand.

"At ease soldier." Comes a sultry voice behind him. He feels the bed dip as Paige crawls under his sheets and presses herself to his bare back.

Her arms wrap around him, and she casually tosses one leg over his. She pressed a soft kiss to the back of his neck and he instantly melts into her touch. He takes the small hand resting on his chest and entwines her fingers with his own. He fears he's dreaming, but examining her hands oddly comforts him. In his dreams, her skin would be smooth and unharmed, rather than scraped and burned from the night's activities. He tenderly presses her hand to his lips, wondering what made her change her mind.

She doesn't speak.

He's afraid to speak.

Eventually his curiosity overcomes his fear of scaring her off. He takes a deep breath and tries to keep his voice calmer than he feels. "So, what you said on the beach... About not-"

"It's Graceland. Everybody lies." She cuts him off softly, burying her head between his shoulder blades. His heart swells. It's not a declaration of love per se, but from Paige, it's real.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" He has so much to say to her, so much he wants to ask.

"Go to sleep Mike."

"So, you don't think this is a bad idea?" He asks hopefully, fighting his inner urge to analyze and fully understand every situation.

"Oh, it's a terrible idea," she mumbles sleepily into his shoulder, "Worst idea ever, but we'll figure it out later..." She yawns against him. "Don't be offended if I slip out before you wake up."

He laughs lightly, his laugh turning into a yawn as well. Suddenly he is hit with a pleasant new wave of exhaustion.

"As if you could ever wake up before me." He mutters sleepily, the words slurring slightly as he drifts off into a peaceful slumber beside her.

* * *

Done. Now go s/9480390/1/Skinny-Double-Dirty-Chai


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